


from now on you're mine

by Melmoland



Series: light up the darkness [1]
Category: BTOB, EXO (Band), VIXX
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Folklore, Historical Fantasy, Japanese Mythology & Folklore, M/M, Monks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-19
Updated: 2016-11-19
Packaged: 2018-08-31 20:58:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8593540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melmoland/pseuds/Melmoland
Summary: the dragon woke to yet another sacrifice left at his cave. this one just wasn't quite what he expected.





	1. forget the virgins, we're out of virgins

**Author's Note:**

> since i'm reposting this from aff, im just gonna post the whole thing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warning: Boys kissing

Once, long, long ago, there was a village. In this village was a cave. In this cave was a dragon. At least, the villagers assumed he was a dragon.  
In a time that was long, long ago for the people who lived long, long ago, there was a man who claimed to have seen the creature. It was immense, with fangs longer than your forearm and covered in scales of brilliant blue… or was it green?  
In all actuality, in the cave was a god of water, of rain, sometimes even the weather itself.  
The details of what he really was were lost in time to the villagers. Eventually, the tradition they had of leaving fruit and farm animals for the water god were also lost to time, and they would occasionally sacrifice a virgin for the dragon in hopes of a bountiful harvest or if there was a flood.  
Eventually, like humans tend to do, the sacrifices became fewer and farther between as well. They would only sacrifice a girl when there was a flood or a drought.  
The humans in the village were, for the most part, corrupt and became cruel. On top of that, the sacrifices became less and less as time wore on until one day, the village elders realised that there were no longer any more girls in town suitable for sacrifice. This was partially the fault of the village elders.  
After a meeting, they came to a conclusion. There was only one person in town who fit the description.  
On the outskirts of the village there was a temple. In this temple was a young monk who dutifully cared for the grounds, regardless of how the hard work tore at his beautiful hands and how many of the village girls threw themselves at him, He continued working throughout the day. Everyday. He was the only monk in the temple and he took his predecessor’s words to heart when he was told that it was an important job.  
Hongbin woke one night to a bell ringing. This bell only rang when there was a disaster. He opened his eyes to his beloved temple being engulfed in flames. He tried in vain to put out the fire and could only run outside to ask for help.  
Unfortunately, when he left the building, everything went black.

 

There was a noise outside of the cave, waking the ancient creature from his nap. Taekwoon smelled purity. A purity he hadn’t seen in these wretched villagers for generations. He would have left long ago, but he was told to wait patiently for the one. His one.  
He watched quietly from a shadow as they wheeled the pure creature, in a dress, with a scarf covering their head.  
Like all of the others, he could smell blood. Most of the others had been bludgeoned to the brink of death by the villagers in order to keep them from running away from the cave. He had to put one or two out of their misery himself, they weren’t long for the world with how they had been treated. This one, it seemed, was no different.  
Except… this one smelled of ash and fire.  
The villagers left and he waited some time to make sure they wouldn’t come back. This sacrifice was tall, he realised when he pulled the cart in.  
He untied the ropes and his sacrifice fell to the ground with a small, deep ‘oof’.  
Taekwoon noticed the trembling before he pulled the scarf off of his sacrifice’s head.  
“Male… this is different,” Taekwoon mused.

Hongbin never moved from the ground. He lay there, crying silently.  
“What’s wrong?” Taekwoon asked, pushing the other man’s hair around, looking for the source of the blood.  
“My temple,” he sobbed quietly. Taekwoon waited silently for the other man to continue. “They burned it down… to- to drive me out.”  
“For the sacrifice. They must have run out of pure girls that they haven’t bludgeoned to death for me.”  
Hongbin sat up, rubbing his neck and thought about that for a moment.

 

“I meant they wanted to drive me out of town,” the monk said.  
“Why would they? You’re beautiful, and you smell of purity I haven’t seen in at least a generation.”  
“I had no interest in their daughters. No matter how many times they threw themselves at me. I just… hid behind my duties at the temple so i wouldn’t have to tell them.”  
“Was there a particular girl you were interested in?” the god asked the monk. Hongbin shook his head slowly while looking at the ground in front of his hands. “You know, it‘s ok to look at me,” Taekwoon said after an awkward silence.  
Hongbin looked up slowly and his breath caught in his throat. The man in front of him was wearing what appeared to be iridescent scale maile. In Hongbin’s eyes, the other man’s entire being shone with the same quality.  
The monk reached up to touch the armour and flinched with a small hiss when his fingers touched a scale. Taekwoon knelt down and grabbed Hongbin’s wrist.  
His fingers were covered in blisters and his palms were red. The monk cried out when Taekwoon darted his tongue out to lap at a digit. All Hongbin felt was a sudden, icy sensation soothing the burns until Taekwoon took a finger and actually sucked it into his mouth. The god looked at Hongbin curiously when the monk whimpered quietly in the back of his throat.  
His eyes were wide and his breathing was shallow.  
“Am I hurting you?” Taekwoon asked. Hongbin shook his head rapidly. Taekwoon suddenly pressed his face into the crook of Hongbin’s neck and inhaled deeply. The monk started trembling again, a look of confusion etched on his face. Taekwoon grinned broadly. This monk seemed like he would be a fun little thing to pass the time with.  
He didn’t make a noise as Taekwoon scooped him up and carried him to a small mountain of cushions in a separate room in the cave.  
“Sleep,” he whispered before kissing Hongbin on the forehead and walking out of the cave, leaving the monk to sleep his injuries away.  
Once he left the entrance, his clothing changed to that of a monk. He walked to the burned-out shell of the temple and appeared to say a small prayer before walking in and toeing at the charred remains. He was hoping to find something that hadn’t been burnt completely.  
He followed his nose and found what was left of Hongbin’s room. Under the blackened mattress was a rosary. It was still intact. Taekwoon clutched it with a small smile and proceeded to look around.  
He found the remains of some musical instruments and a few other things that showed how the young monk lived.  
He stepped out and frowned at a village elder who stood at the still pristine gate, looking like he had no intention of crossing over the threshold.  
“What business do you have here?” he frowned at Taekwoon.  
“I was on a pilgrimage. This was an important destination. The temple of the water god. I was hoping to visit with my friend for a while. Unfortunately, I arrived to this,” he made a sweeping gesture toward the remains of the building. “What happened to the monk who lived here?” Taekwoon asked.  
The elder thought for a moment. If he said the monk had died, this monk would have insisted on giving him a proper sendoff. They didn’t have a body to show him. “He’s gone.”  
“Did he die in the fire or did he just leave?”  
“Perhaps he had terrible injuries from the fire that he must have set and ran off into the night. We may never know.”  
Taekwoon blinked a few times.  
“Did no one try to find him? What if he’s in trouble?”  
“He’s long gone,” the elder said. “You should go before the madness gets you too.”  
“Madness…” Taekwoon smirked. “That’s a good one. Thank you for supplying me with such a good idea.” He sneered at the village elder before heading back toward the cave.

Hongbin woke up alone in the cave. He shot up in the bed of cushions before clutching his head and looking around. He sighed sadly and put his head back down. He wondered how long it would be before the dragon was going to throw him out… or eat him.  
Taekwoon walked into the cave, snapping his fingers. The cave closed up behind him. They weren’t going to find him ever again. It looked as if it had collapsed on the outside.  
“I was just at your temple,” Taekwoon said quietly as the monk looked up at him. “Why didn’t you leave earlier? This village is corrupt and smells… wrong.”  
“I had a duty to my temple. If I could do what I was trained to do… or if I could redeem just one person, it would feel worth it. I never got a chance,” Hongbin said sadly.  
“We should leave,” Taekwoon replied. “These people are unsalvageable.”  
“Anyone can be redeemed…if they want it.”  
“That’s the problem. These people don’t. Your own village elder told me that you started the fire and ran off into the night.”  
Hongbin sighed softly. “I’m… afraid. I’ve never been- I’ve never gone-”  
“You’ve never left the village.” Hongbin shook his head. “Not even on pilgrimage?”  
“I was going to go next year… if I ever found someone to watch the temple for me.”  
“Now you don’t need to wait for someone,” Taekwoon replied with a smile. “It’s been a while since I left my cave as well. I had to wait for my one.”  
“One… like chosen one? What if you’re out before she gets here? What if you lose out on the chance to-” Hongbin stopped talking when Taekwoon chuckled softly, bumping his forehead against the monk’s affectionately. He took the monk’s hand and put the rosary into it.  
“I’ll be in the other room. You go ahead and think about whether you want to come with me or stay here.” He kissed the monk on the forehead again.  
Hongbin was a rare monk. Not many of the younger monks were quite so in tune with what was around them. The instant he woke up at the mouth of the cave, he knew he was face to face with a powerful being. Hongbin’s face fell when he realised that he had completely forgotten his manners and hadn’t introduced himself.  
Then again, perhaps it was for the best. Names held great power. He was probably going to be forced out soon and he didn't think he wanted a stranger with that kind of power over him. He sat and he meditated. He worried the beads of his rosary between his fingers as he thought, weighing the pros and cons of leaving with the strange man.  
He had no idea how long he had been meditating when the smell of food cooking caused his stomach to grumble. How long had it been since he had last eaten?  
He followed the smell to where the water god was making some porridge.  
“Have a seat,” Taekwoon said without looking up.  
“I… don‘t have any way to repay you for your hospitality.”  
“Nonsense, your company is payment enough. I’ve been alone here for… quite some time. Just having someone to talk to is wonderful.” He smiled shyly.  
Hongbin stared at the other man with his mouth half open, suddenly sure he made the correct decision.  
“I wasn’t sure what you could and couldn’t eat, so there’s no meat in this.”  
“D-do you eat meat?” Hongbin asked.  
“Of course.” He paused and looked at his bowl for a moment. “When I was young, I used to live off of the sacrifices the villagers would leave me.  
“You ate young maidens?” Hongbin looked terrified.  
Taekwoon was about to answer with a smirk ‘not in the way you’re thinking,’ but merely replied with, “No, they would leave me actual food instead of badly beaten almost-children.”  
“Almost-children… is that what I am?” Hongbin asked with a tiny smirk.  
“No!” the god defended. “I’ve never met someone as pure as you who was fully grown before,” he frowned. “Not around here.”  
Hongbin carefully reached out and put his hand on Taekwoon’s head, looking like he wanted to comb his fingers through the silky, black hair. The god closed his eyes and leaned into the gentle touch. He pulled his hand away as if it was burnt when Taekwoon made a deep, rumbling purr noise.  
“Does your hand still hurt?” Taekwoon asked, quickly grabbing Hongbin’s hand and sucking on one of the monk’s fingers. He let go when he noticed the other man’s face turn red and he let out a tiny moan.  
Hongbin’s eyes widened and he backed away, clutching his mostly empty bowl of food and looking into it as if it could help him through this new experience.  
“What’s wrong?” Taekwoon smirked.  
“I’ve… it’s- um. I need a bath,” Hongbin pouted. “Where can I-”  
“This way,” Taekwoon sighed and took his bowl before leading the monk to yet another room in the massive cave.  
Hongbin stared in awe around the room. The stones in the walls collected light from somewhere and reflected it around the room, bathing everything in a pale blue glow. There were two baths. One was a steaming hotspring, the other was full of cool cave water.  
“You go in this one first,” Taekwoon pointed at the hotspring, “and then you rinse off in this one.” He pointed at the other pond.  
Hongbin stood there for a moment, breathing in the humid air before Taekwoon finally spoke up.  
“I’m going to get us some clean clothes.”  
“You- you’re coming in too?”  
“Yes,” Taekwoon said, not offering any further explanation. He walked away and Hongbin undressed quickly, climbing into the near-scalding water with a hiss. He sank up to his neck in the water and looked around the room.  
He noticed the different stones in the wall not only collected light, they were in the design of a dragon that wrapped around the room. He was startled when he felt the water ripple.  
“What are you doing?” Hongbin asked softly when the water god put his head on the monk’s shoulder. Taekwoon just sighed softly and closed his eyes with a smile.  
“Er… where’s the rest of your body?” Hongbin asked when he realised he couldn’t see the other man below the surface of the water.  
“Does it bother you?”  
“A little… I mean…. where does the rest of you go?” Hongbin asked.  
“The water felt so nice so I kinda… melted, for lack of better word. I don’t like to stay solid when I’m in water anyway. Takes too much concentration.” Hongbin tried not to think about the fact that he was essentially sitting in a puddle of the other man.  
“What are you? I thought you were a dragon.”  
“I can be a dragon if I want… I suppose I am… the spirit of water?” he said as if he wasn’t entirely sure himself.  
“So… does that make me your servant?” Hongbin asked.  
“I’ve never needed one before.”  
“What then?” Hongbin turned toward Taekwoon with a small pout.  
“Can’t you feel it?” Taekwoon asked barely above a whisper. Hongbin looked confused for a moment but closed his eyes tightly, looking for anything that felt different. A pull, a push, any sort of sensation at all.  
“I feel your heartbeat… all around me,” he sighed. “Am I supposed to feel something else?”  
“Seeing as I don’t normally have a heartbeat, that might mean something.” Hongbin swooned for a moment. Before he knew what happened, he was being lifted out of the hot water and carried into the cold pond. He shrieked, instantly no longer dizzy from the heat and all of his senses were going full tilt.  
“I feel it!” he panted, showing signs of mild shock and the beginnings of hypothermia. He tried crawling out of the cold water but was shaking too hard to actually get a firm grip on the edge. He finally managed to crawl out and roll onto his back. He gasped for air for a few moments before looking down between his legs and seeing the water god staring at him with a raised eyebrow and a mildly impressed look on his face.  
Hongbin quickly sat up, crossed his legs and put his hands in his lap.  
“It caught me by surprise,” the monk said, still breathless. “Why’d you throw me in the cold water?”  
“You looked like you were getting light headed,” he replied. “From what I understand, too much hot water isn’t good for humans.  
“Is there a towel? Now I’m freezing,” Hongbin frowned. Taekwoon stepped out of the water and waved his hand. Hongbin was instantly dry. “S-still cold,” he chattered. The water god gave him a pair of loose shorts and a baggy shirt. They dressed in silence and Taekwoon carried Hongbin to the room with all of the cushions again. He guessed that it must have been directly above the bathing room with how warm it was.  
“Must you insist on carrying me?” Hongbin asked.  
“I’ll make you carry me sometimes if you like,” Taekwoon replied before pulling a blanket over them and wrapping himself around Hongbin. “Sleep well, we leave in the morning,” the water god said before kissing the monk behind the ear and burying his face in the nape of his neck.  
Hongbin dreamed. He was in the cold bath with the water god again. This time he could feel exactly where he was in the water. The older man took his time kissing him and it felt to Hongbin as if hands were touching him everywhere. The water was cold but his skin was unbearably hot. He needed more. This just wasn’t enough.  
The water god kissed softly down Hongbin’s neck, causing him to moan and roll his hips. There was almost no resistance, but there seemed to be enough friction to give him what he needed, though he wasn’t entirely sure what it that was.  
Taekwoon spent the night propped up on his elbow, stroking the monk’s hair, trying to ward off what sounded like a nightmare. He would have a better idea of what Hongbin dreamed about when they had been together for longer.  
“Good morning,” Hongbin finally whispered with a gravelly voice. “Did you sleep?” he asked, noticing the bags under the dragon’s eyes.  
“You sounded as if you were having a nightmare,” he replied, shaking his head.  
“I wasn’t… you didn’t need to protect me in my sleep,” Hongbin cooed before rolling to face the other man and pulling him under the covers.  
“I thought we were going to head out today,” Taekwoon said, not putting up much of a fight as the other man pulled his head to his chest and wrapped his arms around him to hold him in place  
“Sleep,” the monk said seriously. The god was asleep in moments.


	2. meet the inlaws? i really hate coming up with chapter titles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> goin on a trip

A few hours later, they ate breakfast, donned monk’s robes (Hongbin was curious, but felt he had no room to ask where the dragon god got the clothes), and they were on their way to the first temple on their pilgrimage.  
Once in a while they would stop at a smaller temple to pay their respects. Because of this, they didn’t reach the first large temple until sundown.  
They continued from destination to destination, sometimes staying only a few days, occasionally they would stay longer, usually at the smaller temples. Rumour preceded their arrival. Two beautiful monks with a genuinely holy glow around them were on their way.  
Back home, the villagers suffered from what they could only call a madness. It got worse the farther from the village the water god got. The villagers believed it was because one of the elders had sacrificed the only monk in the village after burning one of the pilgrimage temples down.  
  
The village elders were the first to succumb to the madness. The villagers thought that their deaths would be the end of it, but it was only the beginning. It seemed that the more corrupt a person was, the faster they'd succumb to the madness, but it seemed that no-one was spared from this curse. In a desperate attempt to stop it, the villagers worked around the clock to build a new temple. It was bigger and more elaborate than the old one, sparing no expense.  
  
At the first gate, where there was once a painting of four guardians, there were now intricately carved statues. There used to only be one gate. There was now one for each cardinal direction, surrounded by the stars and elements each guardian governed.  
The absence of the village monk was also taking a toll on the local supernatural population. The village was plagued by creatures people had only heard of in folktales and there were sightings of countless former villagers, especially those vengeful spirits of the the girls who had been sacrificed.  
  
The villagers did all they could to get monks to save the village. Every monk who came was either just as corrupt as the villagers, completely unqualified to handle a menace so ancient or incompetent. None of their fates were pleasant.  
  
Meanwhile, Hongbin and Taekwoon would occasionally make detours to meet the other gods.  
“We’re heading north. Is there a turtle that we’re going to visit?” Hongbin asked.  
“Nowhere near as majestic,” Taekwoon said with a straight face. Hongbin could see that his eyes, however, looked amused with his own words.  
They climbed a mountain and Hongbin had no choice but to trust that the water god knew where he was going, because the monk certainly had no idea where he was. They finally got to a cave and were greeted by three snarling wolves. Hongbin was fairly certain that the three angry-looking wolves were just as surprised as he was by the high pitched noise that came out of Taekwoon’s mouth. Hongbin was pretty sure it sounded like ‘puppies!’.  
The wolves yelped when the water god lunged and started cuddling one of them. Hongbin sat on the ground looking confused. One of the wolves sat next to him and looked as if he demanded pets as well but the third wolf had disappeared.  
Hongbin looked around and finally took a tiny piece of dried meat from a pouch on his hip. He gave it to the wolf.  
“Where’s mine?” Taekwoon pouted. Before he could protest further, a man ran up to them, led by the wolf that had run off. He had a dagger drawn and what looked like antlers sticking out of his head, which turned out to be branches in his hair.  
Upon seeing Taekwoon, he put the dagger back in its scabbard, sighing in relief.  
“It’s ok, Minseok. He won’t hurt Wookie,” he smiled. The wolf turned into a small man and looked at the other wolf, who was currently getting his belly scratched. “That’s enough you two. Two legs. Now.”  
The two wolves groaned but stood on their hind legs before turning into men. Taekwoon looked disappointed but stood as well before pulling Hongbin to his feet.  
“Guys, for lack of better word, this is my brother, Taekwoon. Taekwoon, this is Minseok, Ryeowook, and Minhyuk,” he said, pointing at each of the men. “Who is your… companion, and why does he look like the girl in your village that I used to have a thing for?”  
“How long ago was this and what was her name?” Hongbin asked.  
“You’re not implying that Hakyeon might be your grandfather, are you?” Taekwoon made a face.  
“I have no idea. My grandmother insisted that I was left on the steps of the temple, but the resemblance between us was shocking. People kept calling her my mother whenever we left the temple.”  
“That’s cute… er”  
“His name is Hongbin. He’s my one,” Taekwoon blushed. Hongbin gave him a strange look but decided to talk to him about it privately. Later.  
  
“I’m glad. We’ve been worried about how you’d been alone for so long,” Hakyeon said. “So what brings you to my neck of the woods?”  
“All necks of the woods are your neck of the woods, hyung. But we were going to see if you could put us up for the night “  
“I’m glad you decided to include a visit to us on your honeymoon! Of course you two can stay.”  
“OK Hongbin, we’re leaving…. I’m sure we can make it to the next temple before sunrise.” Taekwoon headed toward the path they took.  
“Oh, come on, Woonie. I was just offering you and your mate my hospitality, stop being such a sourpuss.” Hongbin could almost hear him counting backwards from ten, his hands balled into fists so tight his knuckles were turning white as their host grabbed Hongbin’s elbow and steered him into his cave.  
The inside of Hakyeon’s cave was similar to Taekwoon’s but instead of the blue and green iridescence, it had a earthy, muted green glow.  
“This way,” Hakyeon pulled Hongbin. Taekwoon followed behind, grumbling. “You two settle in, I’ll call you when dinner is ready.”  
“Thank you,” Hongbin replied when it was clear that Taekwoon was too busy grumbling to himself to say anything. As soon as Hakyeon was down the hall, Hongbin pushed Taekwoon against the wall, effectively shaking him out of his little fit. “When were you going to tell me?”  
“What?” Taekwoon had no idea what Hongbin was talking about.  
“You introduced me to Hakyeon as your one. When were you going to tell me? Or was this something you just decided right then?”  
“I… knew pretty much right away. I thought you did too. You said you felt it in the bath-” Taekwoon was cut off when the monk kissed him. “Ah?” was his only reply  
“I can’t be your one,” Hongbin said.  
“What? Why not? You have to. It’s … destined,” Taekwoon finished lamely.  
“You don’t tell me anything. I didn’t know your name until we introduced ourselves at the first temple, and even then I had to ask if it really was Leo.”  
“He’s always been really bad at the communication thing, don’t break his heart just for that. You’ve gotten him out of his shell more than anyone else ever has,” Hakyeon shouted from down the hall.  
“Is he always listening?” Hongbin asked before sticking his head into the hall.  
“He’s a nosy little shit,” Taekwoon replied before going to sit in the corner to bury his face in his robes. Hongbin turned to look at the water god and sighed. He set up the bedding and sat next to Taekwoon. Hearing tiny sniffles muffled by the thick robes, he frowned and pulled Taekwoon into his lap.  
“If you don’t stop that this instant, I’m going to bite you.” Taekwoon tried to curl into an even smaller ball. The only thing Hongbin could reach to bite was Taekwoon’s ear, but he made good on his promise.  
The result was not what the naive monk was expecting. Taekwoon melted against Hongbin and let out a breathy moan.  
“What just- did I hurt you?”  
“Felt really nice,” he barely whispered with a tremor in his voice.  
“Are you guys decent?” Minhyuk asked.  
“Yes? Why wouldn’t we be?” Hongbin asked.  
“It sounded like you two were… you know what? Never mind. Dinner’s ready.”  
“Oh, thank you. We’ll be down in a moment.” Minhyuk left quickly.

Dinner was awkward for Taekwoon. It was apparent that everyone in the cave heard the water god make that embarrassing noise and they were blatantly not mentioning it.  
“Are you a vegetarian, Hongbin?” Hakyeon asked.  
“No...my grandmother thought I needed meat to grow up healthy and I just kinda never gave it up… is that bad?”  
“I don’t think so. Circle of life and all that.” He looked pointedly at the three wolfmen who were trying desperately to use the table manners Hakyeon had taught them for when they were with guests. They were whimpering as they slowly ate their meal, used to being able to tear through the meat quickly and efficiently.  
After dinner, Hongbin was shown the bathing room, and Taekwoon was pulled aside by Hakyeon.  
“Are you aware that your village has a curse on it?” the elder asked.  
“I placed it myself.” Taekwoon said with a straight face. “Don’t tell Hongbin,” he said as an afterthought.  
“I’m going to fix up your room while you two take a bath.”  
“Oh heavens… please don’t do anything,” Taekwoon whined.  
“Well, we don’t want to hear you and if you hadn’t noticed, sound carries really well. I am, however, curious to know what it was that pulled that noise out of you.” He smirked  
Taekwoon blushed and ran to the bathing room as Hakyeon chuckled behind him.  
“This water isn’t as hot as your bath,” Hongbin said, splashing some of the water around as the water god undressed. “Why’d he pull you aside?” Hongbin asked.  
“He was just warning me that he was going to do something to our room to dampen the noise,” he sighed as he lowered into the water and dissolved. “Probably cover the entrance with a carpet or something…”  
There was a brief moment of silence before Taekwoon spoke again, “I…” he sighed and cleared his throat before turning to Hongbin. “I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want you to feel like you had to do anything with m-” Hongbin cut him off, pressing their lips together. “What was I saying?” he murmured against the monk’s lips.  
“You were going to show me how to kiss,” Hongbin replied. He gasped when it felt like the water currents were pulling him into what should be Taekwoon’s lap. The water god took the initiative and pressed his tongue past Hongbin’s lips. Hongbin whimpered when their tongues brushed.  
Hongbin felt a gentle caress up the backs of his thighs, pulling him even closer to Taekwoon. He made a muffled ‘ah’ noise when the water god pulled their chests flush against each other.  
Hongbin cupped the back of Taekwoon’s head and sucked on the water god’s tongue. Taekwoon gasped loudly, breaking their kiss.  
“Did I do something wrong?” Hongbin panted.  
“No.” Taekwoon sucked Hongbin’s lower lip between his teeth for a moment. “You’re picking this up,” he kissed the monk’s chin, “rather quickly.” He left a trail of open mouthed kisses up Hongbin’s jaw. He sucked on the monk’s earlobe for a moment before pressing his forehead against the other man’s shoulder. “We have to stop, Binnie… I can’t keep this chaste.” Hongbin nodded and climbed out of the warm water to quickly sink into the cold bath. Hongbin made a tiny high pitched noise as he dropped in, but at least it fixed the problem he had developed.  
The ponds were close enough to each other that Taekwoon could turn to face Hongbin and easily hold his hand.  
“D-do you think we could do that again sometime?” he took a heavy breath. “Like, when we’re not in the water?”  
“I’d like that…” Taekwoon smiled softly.


	3. news travels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warning: boys doing inappropriate things with other boys... And kissing

On the way to the next few temples, the two would occasionally duck behind some trees off of the side of the road to steal a few kisses before continuing to walk, side by side, to the next temple. 

Several weeks later, they ended up heading east to another cave.  
“Which brother is this? White tiger?” Hongbin stuck his tongue out in a teasing gesture.  
“Don't stick that out unless you intend to use it.”  
Hongbin pushed Taekwoon against a sturdy-looking stalk of bamboo and kissed him breathless before they were interrupted by a small cough.  
“So… I hear congratulations are in order, hyung.” A voice came out from behind the bamboo trees..  
Taekwoon pushed Hongbin away and looked at the wind god with an unimpressed expression. He was waiting for the rest of the sentence.  
“If you’re expecting me to say it, I’m not gonna,” the childish god pouted.  
“Say what?” Hongbin looked between the two deities.  
“He’s expecting me to say ‘news travels quickly upon the wind’ or something like that but I’m not… gonna… dammit!” Taekwoon smiled at his companion. Hongbin smiled back.  
“You two are perfect for each other.” He turned and walked toward his cave. “Come on, Dasom is cooking enough for a small army. Sanghyuk, Hongbin, Hongbin, Sanghyuk,” he introduced himself as if Taekwoon was introducing them. “Oh, good luck with putting up with His Royal Grump of the East. Welcome to the family,” Sanghyuk continued as he led them toward the part of the cave with the food.  
“Who’s Dasom?” Taekwoon asked. “I thought the oracle said that your one’s name began with an A or something.”  
“She’s not my one. I’ll find my one eventually, but they sacrificed this one to me and she has nowhere to go, so she cooks and cleans for me for now.”  
“Oh… ok.” They made small talk through dinner and took a quick bath.  
The trip out to Sanghyuk’s cave was further than any two destinations they had travelled between. Hongbin had, in fact, enjoyed the entire trip, but it hadn’t taken him long from the time he settled into the hot water to the time he fell asleep with his head on Taekwoon’s shoulder.  
The water god carried him to the room that would be theirs for a few nights and lay him on the futon. He covered him with a blanket and kissed the monk on the cheek before finding the wind god.  
He had sensed that Sanghyuk wanted to speak for some time.  
“Why aren’t you going back to cure the plague on your village?” Sanghyuk asked.  
“Not until I’m sure the people who tried to sacrifice ‘Bin are gone.” Sanghyuk looked at him with a frown.  
“This will just make him angry at you again.”  
“He can’t stay mad at me forever. I’m doing this for him anyway.”  
“I’m sure he’ll get pretty mad though.”  
“I’ll deal with it when it comes,” Taekwoon said before heading back to the bedroom. 

Hongbin’s eyes opened slightly and he rolled half on top of his mate when Taekwoon snuck under the covers.  
“Binnie?”  
“Hm?”  
“Are you awake, or are you doing this in your sleep?”  
“I’m awake enough,” he sighed against Taekwoon’s throat before climbing completely on top of the water god.  
“Do you realise what you’re doing?” he asked as Hongbin kissed the other man’s jaw.  
“I have a pretty good idea.” Hongbin rolled his hips forward experimentally. The breath caught in both of their throats.  
“Ah- are you sure you want to continue this?” Taekwoon asked, his hips rolling along with the monk’s.  
Hongbin’s lips found Taekwoon’s, and the monk kissed the water god feverishly. “I don’t think I could stop even if I wanted to.” He rolled his hips more frantically and used Taekwoon’s lips to muffle the noise he made when the other man grabbed his hips and pulled him down to grind harder against him.  
Hongbin was gasping desperately as his hips began to stutter, “Taekwoon… this… uhn… please- I”  
Taekwoon rolled on top of the other man and quickly pushed their sleeping pants down to their mid-thighs. He wrapped a hand around both of their cocks. The monk arched and was only able to gasp over and over while staring, wide eyed at his mate as he was overwhelmed by so many new sensations at once.  
Hongbin clutched at Taekwoon’s arms as his eyes clenched shut.  
“Look at me,” Taekwoon whispered. He was getting close as well. Hongbin made a tiny squeak noise before pulling Taekwoon in for a kiss. “Just relax, love. Let go. Come for me.”  
Hongbin’s head fell back and his body rolled starting with his hips as he came with Taekwoon’s name whispered barely loud enough to hear. Taekwoon followed a handful of strokes later, slowly kissing up the monk’s neck and rolling off of the other man before reaching in his bag for a handkerchief to clean them off with.  
“Oh gods… that was… wow… You don’t suppose we were being too loud, do you?” he whispered.  
“Oh, no, not at all,” came a sarcastic reply from down the hall. Hongbin turned beet red and curled into a ball.  
Needless to say, that week at Sanghyuk’s was tense. Taekwoon finally decided that he had had enough of not being able to touch his mate, and ran out with Hongbin and a quick goodbye.  
“That was kinda rude,” Hongbin said when they got to the bottom of the mountain.  
“If I wanted to be that close to you and not be able to touch you, I’d stay at a regular temple.”  
“Well, how far is your last brother? You seem a bit testy, and we’ve been gone for close to a year and a half.”  
“You sound like you’re sick of travelling as well.”  
“Just a little homesick… and something doesn’t feel right when i think of home.”

 

Hongbin was right. Back home, people were desperate to cure themselves of this maddening plague. Some of the villagers were subscribing to quack doctors and snake oil merchants while leaving offerings outside of the remains of the dragon’s cave. Others went out and found monks who, for a price, claimed they would cure the village and put the angry spirits to rest.  
They were usually driven mad faster than anyone else. 

It took two weeks before they managed to get to the cave of the final brother, Wonsik. He ran out of the cave in a panic.  
“Hyung! I thought you were dead! Your village is in total chaos and the original temple was replaced by this- what?”  
Taekwoon was flailing around gesturing to Wonsik that he should stop talking, but Hongbin heard everything. And he saw Taekwoon gesturing.  
Hongbin took a deep breath and chanted a tiny sutra in his head to calm down.  
“Taekwoon, explain this to me from the beginning.” Hongbin said, his voice was thick with restraint.  
“You two should come inside,” Wonsik said warily. “It’s getting late and this is gonna take a while.” Wonsik made some tea and a light meal that Hongbin barely touched.  
“This was exactly the problem we spoke about at Hakyeon’s place,” Hongbin grumbled. “I had friends in that village, there were innocent people. What the hell were you even thinking?” Hongbin stood up to storm out, but Wonsik blocked the door.  
“You can’t leave tonight. It’s too late, it’s too dark, it’s too dangerous. It’ll take you two weeks to get to the village by the fastest route. Stay the night.” Hongbin nodded. “Try to sleep a little, or maybe meditate a little bit. You’re going to need your strength as well as Taekwoon’s to stop what’s going on.”  
“Thank you. Where can I sleep?”  
“Unfortunately, my cave isn’t as big as the others so you’re going to have to share a room with Taekwoon hyung.”  
Hongbin sighed but nodded. He was shown to a room that wasn’t terribly large, but he wouldn’t consider it small either. He sat on a cushion in the corner and meditated. He didn’t open his eyes, but a few moments later he heard the rustling of a futon and a blanket being spread out.  
“For what it’s worth, I did it because of you,” Taekwoon said with a hint of a tremor in his voice. “The village had become corrupt, and people were becoming needlessly violent and cruel. Goodnight, love.”  
Hongbin didn’t open his eyes until he heard the water god’s trembling breaths slow to show that he was sleeping. Hongbin was still angry, but his heart clenched when he saw that Taekwoon was still crying, even in his sleep. He couldn’t stop himself from wiping the tears from his lover’s eyes, but he resisted the urge to curl into the warm futon and snuggle against the water god.  
The next morning, he woke up under the blankets with Taekwoon wrapped around him. He could tell by the other man’s breathing that he was awake.  
“Why did you move me?” Hongbin snipped unpleasantly.  
“I wasn’t about to let you curl up on the floor without a blanket like you were. You would probably catch your death. I need your help to fix the village. You need to be healthy for that.”  
Hongbin got up, folded the bedding, thanked Wonsik and walked out of the cave without checking to see if Taekwoon was following him.  
“I’ll apologise to Wonsik for my abrupt departure if I see him again,” Hongbin said tersely, hoping not to have to say anything to Taekwoon for the rest of the trip.  
“You will. When we officially join-”  
“You seem so sure about the fact that I’m going to stay with you,” Hongbin turned and snapped at him.  
“I need you. I’ll wither and die, and you’ll have to be the new water god until I reincarnate and we can become one. It’s happened before. That’s why Sanghyuk is so young,” the water god said in a tiny voice  
They continued toward the village at a grueling pace, only stopping at the smaller temples for a few hours of rest and a little bit of food before continuing closer and closer to the village.


	4. and... baby makes three? aka always save your progress

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> if you want to know what the scars look like, do a search for lichtenberg figures

One day, a small boy stumbled toward them and collapsed at Hongbin’s feet.   
“Jaehwan! Is that you?” He remembered the tiny boy’s Dol celebration. He didn’t get to facilitate many of those, but at one year of age the boy grabbed his father’s bow and they said he would grow to be a strong warrior. Looking at him now, how frail he had become, it didn’t look as if this would be an option. “Jaehwan, wake up!” He picked up the child. He was feverish and pale, shaking, and covered with thin fernlike scars   
“Do you see what’s happened? Jaehwan is only five.” Hongbin rushed to the village as quickly as he could.   
He was going to run to Jaehwan’s parents’ house to get help, but he saw that the temple had been rebuilt in the year and a half he had been gone. He ran in, shouting to see if anyone was there. When nobody came, he set the child down on some cushions to look him over.   
Jaehwan started to shake uncontrollably and his eyes darted around the room. He started to wail and sob.   
“Please… no… I promise I’ll be good… I promise- don’t make me go bac- I’m sorry. I’ll be good...” the boy was babbling. Nothing he said made any sense to the monk.  
Taekwoon walked in and sat next to his mate. He placed his hand on Jaehwan’s forehead and murmured soothing nonsense at him. The boy’s eyes locked on the dragon god and he went silent aside from the rapid breathing.   
“You’ll be fine. We’re here to protect you,” the dragon cooed.  
“Watch him. Shout for me if he gets worse. I’m going to the apothecary to see if there is anything I can get.” Taekwoon cradled the boy in his lap. Jaehwan’s eyes opened slightly.   
“What happened to your family?”   
The boy was quiet for a moment as if he was thinking.   
“There was a monk… a bad man… mama and papa just got worse and worse and I got sick, and he told papa to beat the sick out of us.” While he spoke, Taekwoon grabbed a bowl from his shoulder pack and cut his finger open, letting a few drops spill in before mixing it with water. “Something took the monk and dragged him into the woods. Then it took papa... mama told me to run and hide.” Taekwoon put the bowl to the boy’s lips and told him to drink.  
“I can be your new papa if you want. Or maybe we can convince Hongbin to be your papa. I’d need your help though. He’s upset at me, you see.”   
The scars faded from the boy’s skin and his colour improved almost immediately.   
“Maybe you should say sorry,” the little boy said. Taekwoon smiled softly.  
“Should we go and find Hongbin appa?” Jaehwan nodded. Taekwoon hoisted the boy up onto one hip and they headed out the main gate.   
Or they tried to.   
There was an invisible barrier preventing their exit. Taekwoon put Jaehwan down and they both tried to stick their hands out. Both of them were thrown back a foot. Taekwoon caught the boy before he could actually hit the ground.   
“I’m hungry,” he sniffled. “We’re gonna starve to death in here and we’ll be like everyone else in this temple.” Jaehwan started to cry. Taekwoon gave him some bread and meat from his pouch, and they decided to wait in the room where Hongbin had left them.   
“We won’t starve here, Hongbin will help us. Let’s start a fire, shall we?” The room was starting to get cold. The fire they started in the fire pit was doing nothing to alleviate the unusually chilly breeze that blew across the temple. “We’re going to need Hongbin soon, I think,” he told the boy before wrapping him up in his robes.  
“Can we go wait for Hongbin outside? I bet it’s warmer.” Taekwoon agreed and they tried the front gate again. Still no change.   
They sat by the gate until Taekwoon got the brilliant idea to shout for his mate.   
“HONGBIN!” the water god shouted. He was echoed by Jaehwan shouting for Hongbin as well. Then they shouted together.   
They shouted two or three times before the monk finally rounded the corner.   
“Jaehwan… you’re ok?” He frowned at Taekwoon. “Why did you move him?”  
“We’re stuck,” the little boy pouted.  
“What do you mean, ‘stuck’?”  
“We mean,” Taekwoon put his hand up, and there was a noticeable blue spark when he touched the barrier. The god winced. “We’re stuck. And it’s colder inside than it is outside, even with a fire.”  
“One thing at a time,” Hongbin said. He put his hands out to touch the barrier and they passed through. Hongbin kept walking until he was inside of the gate. “Are you sure there’s a barrier?” Hongbin asked. He stopped talking and looked around “…Noisy in here, isn’t it? Looks like they took the bait,” he smirked.   
“What?” Taekwoon asked. “Don’t you notice how cold it is in here?”   
“That must be because it’s so… spread out isn't it?” Hongbin asked, feigning innocence.  
“Papa, they’re back!” Jaehwan shrieked as his eyes darted around the courtyard at the things that the water god didn’t think humans, especially children, should see. The little boy buried his face in Hongbin’s robes.   
“Hey…” Hongbin knelt so he could be eye-level with Jaehwan. He felt Jaehwan’s forehead and cheeks to see if he was still feverish. “Did you just call me ‘papa’?” Jaehwan nodded with a tiny blush.  
“Appa thinks you’ll stop being mad at him if we’re a family. He loves you very much,” he whispered almost conspiratorily.  
“I’m sure, but I’m still mad at him.” Hongbin put a rosary around Jaehwan’s neck and put his hands on the boy’s shoulders. “Promise me you’ll never take this off. It’s very important and will keep you safe from...,” Hongbin waved his hands through the air to gesture the things the boy was seeing.   
He picked Jaehwan up and handed him to Taekwoon. “And if you ever want me to speak to you again, you will do as I tell you and not let go of our… our son.” He blinked a few times at how strange that sounded to himself. “No matter what happens to me, you. Will. Not. Let go until I tell you. Understand?”   
“What you’re about to do sounds like it might be dangerous.” Taekwoon’s heart was all over the place. It felt light because Hongbin admitting that they were now a family, but it was heavy because of the seriousness of the situation.  
“Are you going against what I asked of you?” Hongbin asked with a raised eyebrow. Taekwoon shook his head quickly and adjusted the child on his hip before pulling Hongbin in for a kiss. Hongbin turned pink and smiled shyly before turning to walk toward the center of the courtyard. “I recommend that you find some place to sit. This is going to take some time.”   
Hongbin pulled a rosary out of his sleeve and wrapped it around his right arm. He sat in the center of the courtyard and closed his eyes after taking a nervous breath and looking at Taekwoon. He murmured to himself before pointing at the cardinal directions and readjusting himself so he was pointing north east. Taekwoon quietly walked around the perimeter of the courtyard to sit on the steps that were on the north end in order to see his mate’s face.   
Hongbin folded his fingers around into improbable knots, murmuring sutra after sutra, changing positions in his fingers between each one. He went through nine hand seals before starting over again.   
Taekwoon realised that he didn’t understand the language it was in. That meant the language was either very old or from farther away than he had ever been. Every time Hongbin went through the hand gestures and sutras he would recite them faster and faster, until he was surrounded by glowing lights of the spirits trapped in the temple.   
He didn’t so much get to his feet as he was lifted by the glowing blue whirlwind, and despite the shrieks of the spirits that were tearing at his robes and leaving scratches along his cheeks, he continued.   
Taekwoon turned Jaehwan to face him and covered his little ears to protect the trembling boy. Hongbin was lifted off of the ground, arched back into a position that Taekwoon could only assume was uncomfortably far, but still he continued chanting in the strange language until he straightened to watch Taekwoon and Jaehwan out of the corner of his eye and did each of the hand seals. “RIN!” He shouted and changed the seal his hands made with each word. “PYO… TO… SHA… KAI… JIN… RETSU… ZAI-” he opened his eyes and looked directly at the other two before slamming the side of his right fist into his left palm. “ZEN!”   
The spirits shrieked before they all bombarded Hongbin.   
“No!” Taekwoon shouted and got up to run toward his mate. There was a moment where there was a complete absence of sound, and then a brilliant white flash and a deafening, shrill noise that knocked the water god off of his feet.   
Taekwoon got back up and ran to where Hongbin was to see him sitting, crosslegged, left elbow on his knee propping up his chin in his hand.  
“You never let go of Jaehwan. I’m impressed,” Hongbin smirked.   
“You…” Taekwoon dropped hard onto his knees before pulling Hongbin to himself with one arm. “You’re alright…” Taekwoon sobbed into Hongbin’s shoulder. Hongbin looked surprised to see that Jaehwan was hugging him as well.   
“I knew you’d be ok,” the five year old smirked.   
“There’s still a few that I haven’t pulled into the temple, you know,” Hongbin said.  
“Maybe you should rest a bit before taking care of th-” Hongbin fell back in a dead faint. Taekwoon didn’t even have to tell Jaehwan to climb onto his back so Taekwoon could pick his mate up. Taekwoon carried everyone into the room with the fire merrily burning away and now actually warming the room up.   
“You hold onto papa while I get some bedding, ok?”  
“I will protect him,” the child insisted with an endearing look of determination.


	5. yep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this chapter contains adult situations...

Taekwoon came back with a futon and some blankets. Hongbin looked content as he stroked the sleeping child’s head.  
“I thought I told you never to let go of him,” Hongbin whispered.  
“He wanted to protect you while I got us a bed,” Taekwoon said while setting everything up.  
“You looked so scared,” Hongbin chuckled.  
“I thought I’d lost you. Don’t frighten me like that again,” the water god insisted.

Hongbin put Jaehwan on the futon before pushing Taekwoon into another room.  
“What?”  
“Shut up. Don’t make a noise. I don’t want our son to know what we get up to,” Hongbin cut him off, whispering into his ear.  
Taekwoon turned his head and captured Hongbin’s lips, letting the monk push him against a wall.  
He brought a hand to the small of Hongbin’s back and one to the back of the monk’s neck to pull him closer. He lifted his leg slightly to press against Hongbin’s crotch, making the half-hard monk gasp louder than he wanted before the water god could muffle it with a kiss.  
With the hand at the small of Hongbin’s back, he encouraged the monk to roll his hips.  
“Is there more than this?” Hongbin whispered at Taekwoon. “People would confess things to me and I’ve always been curious, but no one’s ever wanted to do anything with the local monk… Well, nobody I’ve ever been interested in.”  
“Yes…” Taekwoon said after a brief pause. “But- won’t it compromise your ability to get rid of spirits and do your duties as a monk?”  
“Not if you’re gentle with me,” Hongbin smiled. “I’m new to all of this.”  
“I’ll do this slowly then.” The dragon groaned softly when Hongbin rolled his hips so hard that Taekwoon could feel how much he wanted this with every fibre of his being.  
He ran his hands under Hongbin’s shirt. He missed the feel of the monk’s warm skin against his palms. They kissed softly as the water god explored his skin as if for the first time. He traced the defined muscles of the monk’s back and slid his hands around the front. His thumbs brushed the dusky, pebbled nipples, making Hongbin almost squeak and rut against him a little harder.  
He turned them so Hongbin was against the wall, clinging desperately to Taekwoon’s shoulder and the back of his neck. The water god palmed the bulge in Hongbin’s pants before stepping back and admiring what a mess Hongbin looked.  
Hongbin made a confused noise until Taekwoon dropped to his knees, pulling the monk’s pants down with him. He traced his fingertips up the backs of the long, pale thighs in front of him, trailing open mouthed kisses against the insides.  
Taekwoon looked up to see the monk biting the back of his hand with his eyes clenched shut as tightly as he could.  
“Hey…” Taekwoon patted him on the hip. “Breathe.”  
“You haven’t even- feels too amazing,” he gasped when Taekwoon licked at the hollow of his hip.  
Hongbin managed not to cry out at the first swipe of Taekwoon’s tongue against the head of his cock. He sobbed when Taekwoon grabbed the base and slowly stroked him as he darted his tongue into the slit. He curled in on himself as Taekwoon wrapped his lips around the head and sucked softly.  
Taekwoon licked around the crown and looked up at Hongbin. “You don’t want to look at me?” the water god teased.  
“I-” Hongbin looked down and Taekwoon sucked him most of the way into his mouth. “Oh” was his only response as the water god noisily sucked him in. Hongbin’s head fell back, but he maintained eye contact while Taekwoon made slurping and smacking noises as his lips stretched around him. He squeaked when he felt something brush his entrance. He jerked as one of Taekwoon’s fingers gently massaged the puckered skin.  
Hongbin ran his fingers through the silky black hair on Taekwoon’s head.  
“I- can’t… this is too much- Woon- I’m going t-” Taekwoon pressed softly, pushing his fingertip just into Hongbin and the monk came with a surprised gasp before nearly collapsing as Taekwoon swallowed everything.  
Taekwoon barely had time to react as Hongbin pushed him backward onto the floor and pulled his pants down far enough to free his cock.  
“You don’t have t- ah”  
“I was going to return the favour once we have more time to ourselves and I don’t need us to stay quiet.” Hongbin said against Taekwoon’s throat as he stroked Taekwoon’s cock quickly.  
“Whatever… just kiss me,” the water god panted. Hongbin obliged, swallowing Taekwoon’s tiny mewls and gasps. It didn’t take long for Taekwoon to reach his end when Hongbin slunk down quickly and lapped at the head of Taekwoon’s cock. “Bin-ah-coming- shit!” Hongbin made a valiant effort of attempting to swallow what he could.  
Hongbin made a distressed face as he swallowed what little he managed to keep in his mouth.  
“Sorry…” Taekwoon said, wiping the monk’s face with a sleeve. “What- ahnnnh” Taekwoon’s head hit the floor with a small thud as Hongbin licked Taekwoon’s stomach clean.  
“It just caught me by surprise is all,” Hongbin said when he pulled his mate’s pants back up.  
Hongbin insisted on cleaning up before going to sleep. He was certain the boy had a really good sense of smell.  
“Why didn’t you tell me you could do that banishing… thing?” Taekwoon asked before splashing water that he warmed up in his hands on his face.  
“Why didn’t you tell me that you cursed my village?”  
“This wasn’t all my doing. My curse went away a few months after we left for our pilgrimage. It was only supposed to afflict the town elders… and the corrupt villagers who were barbaric enough to burn the temple down with you in it.”  
“Then where did this plague come from?”  
“Angry spirits from when the old temple burnt down?” Taekwoon suggested as he held out his cupped hands full of warm water for his lover to wash his face with.  
“Is there anything else you neglected to tell me… you know, so I don’t have to be mad at you for extended periods of time?” Hongbin pouted. “Because I really don’t like not touching you for days.”  
“There is one thing… about how I made Jaehwan better…” he said shyly. Hongbin raised an eyebrow waiting for the water god to continue. “Igavehimsomeofmybloodtosavehim.”  
“Run that by me again?”  
“Those fern marks… and the gift of sight...I’m sure those were signs he wasn’t long for this world. I couldn’t let him die.”  
“That- I figured that was what the signs might have been,” Hongbin acknowledged, “Anything else?” Hongbin sighed softly.  
“I may have to give him more to make sure it doesn’t happen again.” Hongbin crossed his arms but nodded. Taekwoon wrapped his arms around Hongbin and kissed the side of his neck. “We have a family,” Taekwoon grinned broadly.  
Hongbin sighed and smiled against Taekwoon’s lips when he pulled him in for a kiss. “We have a family… let’s go to bed, appa.”

That night they all slept on the futon, one on either side of Jaehwan, wrapping protectively around the boy.


	6. seeing ghosts

The next morning, Hongbin woke with a start. The barrier outside of the temple had been touched.   
“What’s wrong?” Taekwoon mumbled.  
“Someone’s at the door,” Hongbin said. He put a robe on and tried to look as official as he could as he rushed out of the room.   
Hongbin dropped the barrier as he walked to the entrance.  
“Hello?” Hongbin said as he headed to the main entrance. A woman stumbled in, hanging onto the door frame of the inner main gate. He recognised her as one of the fairweather worshipers. She only came in if she really wanted something or on major holidays, but only because it looked good.   
“What’s wrong, Mrs. Kim?” Hongbin asked.  
“Oh gods! I’m seeing ghosts!!!”  
“Where? There’re no ghosts here,” he smiled proudly. “Got rid of them myself last night.”  
“How are you still alive? The village elder told us you died in the fire. Where have you been?” she demanded.  
“I was on pilgrimage. I came back and they seemed to have replaced my home with this new temple” he explained, “How may I help you?” He wanted to get back to sleep.  
“The plague! I’m dying!!!” The woman swooned dramatically.   
“Let me see your hand.” He examined her arm and pressed on two points on it before chanting something loud enough for her to hear. He pressed down a little harder to give her the illusion that something happened. “Drink lots of tea and get rid of all of the bread in your house this season,” he instructed. “You’ll be fine.”   
“Thank you so much! I already feel better,” she exclaimed before putting a rather hefty bag of money in his hand.   
“I can’t take-”  
“Nonsense. You can… put it toward the upkeep of the temple, or perhaps some food.”  
“I do have two more mouths to feed... “ Hongbin mused. “I will put it in the donation box. Thank you for your contribution,” he said, fishing one of the lucky talismans he made while between temples on his trip from the sleeve of his robe.  
She ran out repeating ‘thank you’ over and over as she proclaimed loudly that the best monk had come back to save the town.  
Hongbin had put the barrier back up and turned to go back to bed. He went to the room he had been sleeping in to find it empty. The bedding had been put away and no trace that the other two were even there.   
He almost thought this past year was a dream until he smelled food cooking from the kitchen. He got closer and heard Jaehwan trying to teach Taekwoon a song. Hongbin listened from the doorway with a tiny smile as his lover copied the boy while he stirred whatever was cooking.  
Jaehwan jumped when Hongbin started to sing too.   
“Papa, where did you go?” Jaehwan asked.  
“One of the villagers needed my help. I couldn’t say no.” Jaehwan nodded as he ate a small piece of cheese. 

Later in the day, Hongbin went out to collect herbs to help the people who were actually ill with the plague. Hongbin asked Jaehwan if he wanted to come, stating that it would be a brilliant way for the boy to learn how to help, but Jaehwan wanted to go with Taekwoon to try and figure out where the livestock had run off to and to collect offerings by his cave.   
How could a five-year old say no when the water god said he had chickens to catch? 

Hongbin collected herbs in a field near where Jaehwan had said his parents were taken from him. There were claw marks on the ground as if someone had tried to hang on and not be pulled in. The monk frowned as he looked at the dirt, but hummed the song Jaehwan had taught them as he picked through the plants.   
He knew the instant he walked into the field that something was watching him from the woods. He was also pretty sure that it was whatever took Jaehwan’s parents. He was wary, but he tried not to make it look obvious that he was feeling around for it.  
“Papa!!!” Jaehwan ran up and hugged the monk.   
“Jaehwan, what a pleasant surprise! I thought you were helping Woonie appa.”  
“He wanted me to tell you that lunch was almost read-” He shrieked as a hand pulled him into the woods. “Papa!”

“It’s a lie! It’s a lie!” he heard a woman’s voice his over the top of Jaehwan’s shrieks of pain.  
Hongbin ran up and pushed a scraggly, terrifying ghost off of his son.   
“He’s just a boy, what are you doing?” he threw a piece of paper with a seal on it at her and she hissed a bit before brushing it off of her forehead. Hongbin followed where she tossed it and saw a tattered and bloody woman’s hanbok.  
“I remember you…” Hongbin frowned as he looked Jaehwan over before putting the boy on the ground behind himself. “Didn’t you insist to the other girls that you would make me fall in love with you before anyone else?”  
“And they sent me as a sacrifice. That was supposed to be my child,” she wailed before trying to attack the unconscious boy.   
“How does attacking my son make me want to like you?” Hongbin tried to reason with her. She just kept trying to attack. Hongbin tried to deflect the attacks and received a deep cut on his arm from each strike. The monk chanted and yet it appeared to do very little.   
He managed to push the angry spirit farther back for a while, but his strength was quickly depleting. He tried everything he could think of considering he was woefully underprepared for this fight. Every time he got near this woman, she managed to land another strike on Hongbin. The ghost realised that she was closer to Jaehwan now and went for him instead.  
Hongbin practically flew forward and shielded Jaehwan from the attack with his own body. The overwhelming pain combined with the need to protect Jaehwan caused something to flare up inside of Hongbin.  
There was a blinding flash through the forest and then deafening silence.


	7. i lived

Taekwoon realised that it was taking too long for Jaehwan to bring Hongbin back for lunch. He stuck his head outside and noticed that it was quiet. Too quiet.  
He ran out of the temple, toward the field by the forest.   
“Hongbin?” He saw the monk’s basket. he walked closer to the forest and it smelled like blood and magic. “Hongbin!” he shouted as he ran into the forest.  
Hongbin opened his eyes and saw Jaehwan, still unconscious beneath him, covered in scratches and blood. He had yet to realise this, but most of the blood was his own and not the child’s.   
The monk’s limbs felt unusually heavy. Still, he lifted the boy and walked toward where he thought the temple was. The spirit was nowhere to be found, but the remains of a monk’s robes, a man’s clothes, and mangled clothes belonging to a boy Jaehwan’s size were scattered along the path he had taken. Jaehwan opened his eyes, saw the confused look in his father’s eyes and followed his line of sight to the clothes. Hongbin knew Jaehwan had no siblings. The monk was still slow to piece together the possibility that his son might be an impostor. Not like it mattered to the monk. His priority was to keep Jaehwan safe.  
A thoughtful look as if he was formulating an explanation briefly crossed Jaehwan’s face before Hongbin shook his head to clear it. Jaehwan pressed his face into Hongbin’s chest and closed his eyes again. The monk continued to stumble along.   
Hongbin was turned around and couldn’t figure out where home was. His legs were unable to hold him up anymore when they reached a clearing and he fell heavily on top of the once again unconscious boy.   
“I’m sorry- I’m a terrible father.” He closed his eyes and his breathing became so shallow it looked as if it had stopped. 

Taekwoon ran through the forest, chasing the smell of blood and shouting Hongbin’s name. He finally reached the clearing and made a noise when he saw all of the blood on Hongbin’s back.   
He heard Jaehwan’s muffled cries from underneath Hongbin.   
“Papa,” he wailed.   
“Jaehwan, he’ll be OK. How are you?” he asked, attempting to distract the boy.  
“I’ve been better, appa.” He scooted out from under the monk when Taekwoon moved him. “What can I do?” he asked as Taekwoon lifted Hongbin and walked toward the temple.  
“You can… get Hongbin’s basket.” He gestured toward the basket in the field. While the boy was faced away, Taekwoon bit his lip hard enough to bleed and kissed Hongbin. “Don’t leave me,” he whispered. “You can’t”  
Hongbin gasped loudly. His eyes cracked open, but he wasn’t lucid. He smiled at the dragon and closed his eyes again. They ran back to the temple where Taekwoon put the monk down on his stomach and quickly mended his worst wounds.  
“Let me look at you,” Taekwoon said after a moment. He grabbed the boy’s chin and turned him this way and that. “Does it hurt?” he asked about the lightly bleeding marks all over him.  
“Not as much as it could have.” He gestured at the hole in Hongbin’s back.   
“Well, your papa needs some sleep for a little while. Let’s get some lunch in you and some of these cuts cleaned up shall we?” Jaehwan told Taekwoon what happened while he ate a bowl of stew. Jaehwan looked at his stew with a strange expression.  
“What’s wrong?”   
“It tastes different from how mama used to cook it.”  
“Well, I’m not your mama. I’m your appa. Don’t expect too much from me.” Taekwoon huffed.  
“As long as the food keeps coming, I won’t say anything,” the boy said through a bite of kimchi.   
“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” came a weak groan from the door.  
“Papa” Jaehwan ran to Hongbin but Taekwoon caught him before he could reach the injured monk.  
“Why aren’t you in bed?” the water god asked.  
“I have things that need to be done. There are sick villagers.” Hongbin wobbled where he was. Taekwoon picked him up and carried him to a chair, pushing him to lean forward against a table. He pulled the monk’s tattered shirt off and poked at the now significantly smaller hole in the monk’s back.   
“Jaehwan, can you get a bowl of water and a washcloth for me?” Taekwoon asked. While the boy ran off to do as he was asked, the dragon god bit his tongue this time and pulled the monk up for another kiss. “I’ll take care of everything. You have to eat some of the stew I made for lunch. It will make you stronger,” he said quietly.“ He got a bowl full of stew and started to spoonfeed his lover.   
“Does this have your blood in it?” Hongbin asked as he opened his mouth.   
“I originally made it for Jaehwan, but I’m glad I made enough for you too.”   
Hongbin looked at the expression in Taekwoon’s face. “If I had a choice, I wouldn’t have gone in so unprepared, and definitely wouldn’t have taken Jaehwan with me.”  
“I know you wouldn’t,” he replied.   
Jaehwan came back and grinned at the two men in the kitchen.   
“I got it… is there anything else you need?” he asked.  
“No, thank you. You’ve been quite helpful.” Taekwoon softly head butted the boy affectionately before washing Hongbin’s wounds with the warm water. The monk would hiss softly whenever the water god would brush the cloth over a particularly large wound. “Sorry”  
After he washed off the monk’s cuts, he told Jaehwan that he had permission to sit on his papa if he tried to get up before he came back. 

Taekwoon went outside and felt for a breeze.   
“Sanghyuk, can you hear me?” he asked the wind.   
“Hyungs felt a disturbance in the east. They thought there was something seriously wrong,” came the reply on the wind. “Expect visitors.”  
“Oh that’s a relief, I was going to ask if you or Wonsik could come and watch our son for us.”  
“Hyung… what did I tell you about stealing children?” There was a momentary pause before Sanghyuk spoke again. “Unless Hongbin really is a woman.”  
“He’s not a woman,” Taekwoon snipped. “We adopted an orphan.”  
“Right… anyway, expect company.” And that was the last he heard. 

Meanwhile. Hongbin felt someone at the door. The monk stood up and Jaehwan clung to his leg desperately.   
“No papa! Appa told me not to let you go anywhere.” Still the monk hobbled toward the front door.   
“Hello?” he shouted while he was half way across the main courtyard with Jaehwan still latched onto his leg.  
“Goodness Hongbin, you two wasted no time did you?” Hakyeon’s cheerful voice replied as he walked in followed by his three companions. All four of them were dressed as monks.  
“What the hell happened to you?” Minhyuk asked.  
“Papa saved my life.” Jaehwan beamed proudly. “Now help me get him to bed again.”  
“Jaehwan, I have too much work to do,” the monk insisted.  
“Appa told me to keep him in bed.” Jaehwan pouted at the visitors, blatantly ignoring Hongbin.  
Minhyuk picked Hongbin up and followed Jaehwan into the house.  
“Why does everyone pick me up?” Hongbin whined.  
“Because you don’t listen,” Taekwoon replied. “Hakyeon, can you keep an eye on Jaehwan and the temple? I need to take Hongbin to my cave.”  
Hakyeon wolf-whistled but agreed.


	8. this chapter definitely contains adult situations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> theres gonna be boys touching each other's weenies in here  
> if you cant handle it, turn away now

“What are we doing here?” Hongbin asked, pain and fatigue still heavy in his voice.  
“The water has healing properties,” Taekwoon replied before undressing the monk completely and kissing him. “...and since we’re here, I was thinking we could complete the joining ritual,” he said with a small blush. They both sat in the hot water. Taekwoon submerged completely and Hongbin could no longer see him. The monk decided to push away from the edge and just float in the steamy water as he felt his wounds knit back together.  
He sighed happily at the tingly feeling in his skin, almost falling asleep before he felt hands all over him. He moaned softly when his legs were pushed apart and Taekwoon left featherlight caresses on his inner thighs.  
He reached above his head to cling to the edge of the spring as the caresses moved higher.  
Taekwoon resurfaced and swallowed his moans with a soft kiss when the touches reached the apex of his thighs.  
“May I?” Taekwoon asked, barely pulling away to breathe the question against Hongbin’s lips.  
“Touch me… I’ve been waiting for-ah” Hongbin was surprised by the gentle press against his entrance, but it was strange since Taekwoon wasn’t actually solid. Hongbin moaned at the alien sensation and gripped at Taekwoon’s shoulders. “Can we- ah- out of the water- please- I want to feel you.”  
Without pulling his fingers out, he picked Hongbin up with his other arm and stepped out of the water. He gently lay the monk on the stones at the edge of the hotspring, leaving his feet still in the water and continued to slowly pull and push his fingers in and out of his lover. The first few times Hongbin had arched violently and nearly shrieked when the feeling inside of him changed completely.  
Taekwoon crooked his fingers. Hongbin bent back and cried out at the new sensation.  
“Was that too much?” He asked before doing it again, achieving nearly the same results. A few more times and Hongbin had tears in the corners of his eyes. Before Hongbin could reply, Taekwoon slunk most of the way back into the water before resurfacing and leaving desperate open mouthed kisses on the insides of Hongbin’s thighs.  
“Please… more…” the monk begged.  
“More what?” The water god teased.  
“I don’t- ah.” Taekwoon curled his fingers. “What do I ask for?” he panted. “Please… I need- ah! I need you.”  
“Patience, beautiful,” Taekwoon said, licking a stripe up from his entrance to the head of his cock before pulling Hongbin back into the water. Hongbin felt Taekwoon’s hands on his thighs spreading them wider. He pushed Hongbin to lean against the edge just barely below the surface of the water and told him to hold himself right there before dropping down to suck the monk’s cock entirely into his mouth and bobbing twice before pulling off and dropping back under the water.  
His arms and thighs trembled, trying to hold himself up and keep his legs apart. He moaned loudly when something pushed his legs a little farther and he felt something different press against his entrance. He felt what he could only assume was Taekwoon’s tongue dart in and out of him repeatedly. Hongbin couldn’t help it. he took himself in hand and started to stroke himself. He muttered his lover’s name and the water god pulled away. Hongbin only stopped when Taekwoon grabbed his wrist.  
“Please…” Hongbin uttered.  
“Do you want me to fuck you, Hongbin?”  
“Yes… please yes,” he gasped when he felt Taekwoon press his fingers into him again.  
Without warning, Taekwoon pulled him into the water and Hongbin’s eyes widened when he felt the water god press into him all at once.  
“We’re going to sit here for a moment, OK?” Taekwoon said. Hongbin didn’t make a noise until Taekwoon ran his thumb across the head of Hongbin’s cock. The monk rotated his hips and moaned desperately.  
“Taek- ah- oh- please…” He couldn’t get a proper word out. he just let his head fall back and held his own legs open. The water god started with slow, deep thrusts before pausing and looking at Hongbin.  
“Are you ready?” he asked. The monk had no idea what was going on but nodded anyway. Taekwoon pulled Hongbin completely out of the water and put the monk down between the two ponds. “Touch yourself,” Taekwoon said softly.  
As soon as the monk grabbed his cock, Taekwoon pressed three fingers into him. Once the monk was desperately riding Taekwoon’s fingers, he pulled his fingers out and kissed Hongbin.  
“Fuck me already,” the monk growled, “unless you want me to fuck you...,” he raised an eyebrow in challenge.  
“Interesting proposition, love,” He pulled Hongbin so his lower back was on the dragon god's lap, “but maybe next time.” He pulled Hongbin all the way onto his cock and held still.  
“Move!” Hongbin shouted as he stroked himself and rocked as well as he could against his lover from such a strange position. “Please- AH”  
Hongbin let go and braced himself against the floor as the water god snapped his hips forward. “There! yes! Please please please!” he begged between each of the snaps of Taekwoon’s hips. Taekwoon fucked into him, not once acting as if he were fragile, and Hongbin loved every moment. “Harder!” Hongbin snarled.Taekwoon obliged. Hongbin stroked himself just as fast if not faster than his lover was thrusting into him.  
“Taekwoon- ah!” Taekwoon changed angles and arched into his lover.  
“Hongbin~” he cooed, barely out of breath. “Hongbin~” he held the other man’s hips very still. “Do you feel me?” Taekwoon groaned as he looked into his lover’s eyes and canted his hips forward one last time, growling his lover’s name. He held himself as still as he could aside from the involuntary twitching of his hips. “Can you feel that” he whispered breathily into Hongbin’s ear.  
Hongbin gasped when he felt his lover twitching, filling him and finally when he couldn’t stop himself anymore, he rolled his hips two or three more times to ride out his orgasm.  
He kissed Hongbin before pulling out and slinking down his body, sucking the head of his cock past his lips. He pressed his fingers back into the monk, curling them before bobbing his head quickly. “Ah- hyung… now-I-” he came with a choked off noise and a sob. “fuck-”  
Taekwoon pulled him back into the hot water and proceeded to kiss him to within an inch of his life.

Up until this point, Jaehwan had been running through the temple, playing with the three wolves as if he had no limit to his energy. Suddenly he collapsed in the courtyard. Hakyeon ran to him once he saw the boy fall down.  
“Jaehwan! are you alright?” Hakyeon picked him up and brought him inside. The child had a lazy grin plastered to his face.  
“I feel amazing!” he blinked slowly. “I’m gonna take a nap,” he said, promptly curling up in Hakyeon’s arms.  
This happened several times over the next two days. On the third day, Jaehwan sat down, but he never actually collapsed.  
“Still feeling OK?” Minseok asked Jaehwan before picking him up and carrying him to take a nap.  
“Yeah… just not as strong a feeling today,” he smiled. Minseok frowned for a moment when he saw a slight discolouration in Jaehwan’s skin. He brought the boy to Hakyeon instead of putting him down for a nap again.  
“Not sure if it’s cause for alarm, or what it means,” he adjusted the sleeping boy, “but the feeling he’s been having isn’t as strong today and I noticed this…” he pulled the collar of the boy’s robe down to show off the lines on his neck and chest.  
Hakyeon frowned for a moment. “I’m sure it’s nothing, but I’ll tell Taekwoon when he gets back. 

Back in Taekwoon’s cave, Hongbin lay on top of Taekwoon on the mountain of cushions, kissing him softly. Hongbin’s right hand was tied to Taekwoon’s left. The wound from the bonding ritual had healed from all of their time in the hotspring, but there were still a few hours before they were allowed to untie the silk cord connecting them.  
“However much I am enjoying this, I do have duties to attend to, and we can’t just leave Jaehwan with Hakyeon forever.” He bit softly below Taekwoon’s ear where his jaw met his neck.  
“Now?” Taekwoon looked sad.  
“We’ll go back tomorrow,” Hongbin said before slinking down the water god’s body, stopping to tongue at a dusky nipple.  
“Nnh” was the only response he got. Hongbin scratched his way down Taekwoon’s side, completely bypassing his cock and grabbing the dragon’s thigh. He trailed sucking kisses down the water god’s stomach as he lifted Taekwoon’s legs to bracket his sides. It was interesting finding ways to make love while tied together like this, but where there’s a will, there’s a way.  
Hongbin sucked on his fingers as he nuzzled the spot where Taekwoon’s thigh met his hip. Taekwoon whimpered Hongbin’s name once the monk stopped sucking on his fingers and licked at the sensitive skin.  
The water god pushed himself up to his elbows to look at Hongbin in anticipation. The monk looked Taekwoon in the the eyes as he pressed a finger into him and sucked the head of his cock past his lips.  
Taekwoon let out a harsh breath and his head fell back. “Ohh… Hongbin,” he drawled.  
Hongbin slowly pushed a finger into Taekwoon, trying to find that spot that he enjoyed so much whenever Taekwoon touched him.  
“Ah- more,” Taekwoon whined, “please more…”  
Hongbin added a finger and crooked it, still slowly searching for- “Oh-ah- f-yes harder… push harder on THAT.” Hongbin obliged and added another finger while he was at it. Taekwoon mewled loudly before pushing Hongbin to his back and kissing him.  
“What’s going- ah!” Taekwoon sucked Hongbin’s cock between his lips and bobbed his head three times before raising up and impaling himself on the monk.  
“Fuck!” they both shouted.  
Taekwoon held completely still as he adjusted to the sudden stretch. Hongbin, on the other hand, was compelled to touch all of Taekwoon’s skin at once, running his left hand up his trembling inner thigh, tracing every single ridge of his ribs and pulling him down for a kiss, tracing every bump of his spine. His hand finally came to rest on the curve where Taekwoon’s thigh met his ass and he squeezed. He could tell he was doing something right whenever Taekwoon would give Hongbin’s right hand a squeeze.  
The water god moaned into the kiss and rolled his hips, making Hongbin moan. He spread his hand out on Hongbin’s chest and pushed up while rocking his hips.  
“Come back down here, it’s cold,” Hongbin cooed, pulling Taekwoon down against him. The monk planted his feet flat on the cushions and pushed his hips up while pulling Taekwoon down onto himself. The dragon moaned loudly as he rocked against the other man.  
He managed to pull away from Hongbin, and the confused monk was about to ask until Taekwoon told him to get onto his knees.  
“Hard and fast,” Taekwoon said as he crawled in front of the monk, Hongbin’s arm crossing across the dragon god’s chest.  
Hongbin bent over the water god so his chest touched Taekwoon’s back. He ran his fingertips up the water god’s stomach and chest before kissing his way down Taekwoon’s spine, tracing the sensitive, stretched skin around his entrance with a spit-slicked finger.  
“Please.” Taekwoon whimpered. Hongbin chuckled darkly as the muscles tried to contract around nothing. “i need you.”  
He traced a finger around the head of Taekwoon’s cock, making the water god sob desperately.  
“Look at you.” He kissed Taekwoon’s hip and continued to trace up and down the prominent vein on the underside of Taekwoon’s cock with light scratches. “So desperate to be filled, aren’t you?”  
“Yes… fill me… I need you inside… please Hongbin, I need you.”  
“Inside like this?” Hongbin teased before pressing three fingers into him.  
“No- AH” Hongbin quickly removed the fingers and traced the sensitive skin with his tongue.  
“Then what do you want from me?”  
“Oh - fill me with your cock. Please now, hard and fast. I need to feel you stretching m-AH!”  
Hongbin did as he was told. Taekwoon squeezed Hongbin tightly and the monk felt as if he never wanted to let go.  
“So tight, Woonie.” He licked the skin he could reach on Taekwoon’s back and the water god cried out with every snap of his hips. He reached down and stroked at the water god’s cock until the older man raised up onto his knees.  
Taekwoon tugged on Hongbin’s hair, and regardless of the awkward angle, managed to plant a desperate kiss on him.  
Hongbin held him in place with the arm across Taekwoon’s chest and one at his hip, never slowing down. He left bites on Taekwoon’s neck that grew harder and more desperate, causing the water god to cry out and take himself in hand.  
“I’m close Hongbin- so good,” he moaned softly.  
“Do you want me to suck you or-”  
“No! Don’t stop this! Too good.” Taekwoon growled.  
Hongbin tried to snap his hips forward faster. “I’m too close,” the monk groaned. “Don’t think I can keep this up…” he brought his hand down to help bring Taekwoon to his end and the instant his hand joined his lover’s, he felt Taekwoon’s inner muscles clench and the warm liquid spill over his hand. The sensation caused Hongbin’s hips to jerk out of time and he whimpered Taekwoon’s name before the muscles in his stomach forced them both to double over.  
He landed on top of Taekwoon before rolling them to their sides. It took them a while before they could breathe normally.  
“I need another bath…” Hongbin said with a cheesy grin and a kiss to the base of Taekwoon’s neck.  
“Uhnnnnn,” Taekwoon replied quietly. Hongbin covered his face with his free hand and blushed.  
“I can't believe I just did that." He giggled. 

Meanwhile, Jaehwan sat up from his futon with a tiny little snort and grunted, I dun wanna take another bath,” before falling back asleep.  
The three wolves around him looked at each other with concerned expressions before putting their heads back down and going back to sleep.


	9. the last chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> fear not starlight babies, theres supposed to be 3 more stories in this series  
> ... so this isnt really the end

The temple had been busy. Rumour had spread that Hongbin had returned to save the village. When they got to the temple gates, they were greeted by four strange faces and Jaehwan.  
“He is recuperating,” Jaehwan heard the others say, so that was what he would tell the people as well. At least, he did until this day.  
“Where is Hongbin?” an old woman asked. She was his neighbour when he still lived with his parents.  
“He is on his way back,” Jaehwan grinned. “He has recuperated.” The other ‘monks’ looked at him in confusion. “Here they come,” he said as they walked in through one of the other gates.  
“Hello?” Hongbin shouted when he walked into the temple. Jaehwan ran into the temple to pull Hongbin out and tell him that people were waiting for him.  
Hongbin looked at Jaehwan, frowned for a moment, then helped a villager quickly.  
“Let me get a look at you,” Hongbin said to Jaehwan, turning his head this way and that. “We’ll have Taekwoon cook you something to eat, OK?” The little boy clapped happily at the prospect of Taekwoon's food again. Later that day, the fernlike marks went away and Taekwoon looked the boy over.  
“I was afraid that you were getting sick again. We might not be able to leave you to go on such long … excursions anymore.”  
From that point on, they were busy. For the entire first week since Hongbin had returned, Taekwoon expressly forbade him from banishing anything bigger than his head and became paranoid if Hongbin went out to help the villagers on his own. This annoyed Hongbin greatly and in retaliation, he always chose to go out with Hakyeon.  
“You know he worries so much because he loves you, right?” Hakyeon said. Hongbin nodded.  
“It just gets stifling and troublesome,” Hongbin pouted.

Once the plague and all of its side effects were under control, Hakyeon said his goodbyes and took his wolves with him. Then there appeared a completely new menace to the town.  
Nobody knew what was attacking the village except the people in the temple. Hongbin thought only he and Taekwoon could see them until the one day Jaehwan was sitting in the courtyard playing with what his grandmother explained to him were called sunekosuri. They were small and fuzzy. To a child, they would be the perfect little friend.  
It probably wouldn’t have been an issue until Jaehwan, who loved being as helpful as possible, was running an errand for Hongbin and he stopped to talk to something.  
Well, less ‘talk to’ and more ‘yell at’.  
A short time later, he kept insisting as old Mr. Kim dragged him back by his collar, sobbing, that it wasn’t him that let the goats out.  
“Your disciple let my goats loose. I suggest you give him another thrashing.”  
“Another?” Hongbin frowned.  
“I thrashed him and made him bring my goats back.”  
“I suggest that you let my son go and never touch him again,” Hongbin frowned. “I will speak to him, but if you lay a finger on my son again, you will not appreciate the results.”  
The old man made a noise as if he was insulted and turned to leave, tripping over a sunekosuri. Jaehwan managed to cover up his giggle by making it look like a sob. Hongbin didn’t even bother covering up a chuckle.  
“Shall we take a bath?” Hongbin asked. “We’ll clean up and have lunch before we go and get the vegetables from the market.” Jaehwan nodded and ran to get clean clothes for everyone.  
“What did you see by old Mr. Kim’s farm?” Hongbin asked before looking his son over for injuries.  
“Ow- it looked like a little boy with red hair, and he looked like he wanted to steal the goats. I chased him away and Mr. Kim yelled at me and hit me,” he pouted.  
Hongbin sighed. “I think it’s time I teach you how to tell the difference between what we can see and what the villagers can see.”  
“Is it because we live here?”  
“Could be,” Hongbin replied vaguely, helping his bruised son into the hot water of the new tub that Taekwoon ‘made’.  
They soaked for a little while and Taekwoon called for Hongbin to come and eat lunch, not realising Jaehwan had come home yet.  
Hongbin and Jaehwan came into the kitchen and were pleasantly surprised by the purple rice and ddeokguk  
“When did you get home?” Taekwoon asked Jaehwan.  
“When Mr. Kim beat me up and dragged me here.”  
Hongbin had jumped to his feet and grabbed Taekwoon’s arm before the boy even finished the sentence.  
“Let me go. I need to have a word with this Mr. Kim.”  
“He’s being dealt with by the local … whatevers.” Jaehwan replied with an air of nonchalance.  
Taekwoon stopped struggling and waited for further explanation.  
“He can see spirits. I’m going to train him how to tell the difference between what we can see and what they can see.”  
As Jaehwan and Hongbin were about to go out to get the vegetables Jaehwan had originally set out to get, one of the villagers ran to them.  
“Something is attacking Mr. Kim! You have to help!”  
Hongbin and Jaehwan followed the young man to a tree surrounded by people shrieking in distress.  
Before Hongbin could banish the long cloth like creature, Jaehwan stepped forward with his little hands balled on his hips.  
“You put mean ol’ Mr. Kim down. He can’t help it if he’s mean, and it’s not nice to hurt people,” the boy said clearly. The villagers were staring at Jaehwan. Jaehwan’s lower lip stuck out, obviously upset at this being that only he seemed to be able to see. “Put. Him. Down.” Jaehwan said.  
Mr. Kim very slowly slid back down the tree and onto his feet, coughing and glaring at Jaehwan as if it was his fault.  
“Everything good?” Hongbin asked before dragging Jaehwan to the market to get their vegetables, not waiting for a response.  
“What’s wrong, papa?” Jaehwan asked.  
“Training starts as soon as we get home,” was the last thing Hongbin said about the subject.  
As soon as they returned to the temple, Hongbin told Jaehwan to get changed and wash up before meeting him in one of the larger rooms of the temple.  
If Jaehwan was anything, he was attentive. As soon as he stepped into the room, he walked up to the shrine and said a quick prayer before sitting in front of Hongbin. The monk beamed proudly at him before showing him how to sit properly.  
He bent the boy’s legs into a full lotus position before adjusting his hands on his lap.  
“We will start every morning like this and end every day the same way, understand?” Hongbin asked. Jaehwan nodded and closed his eyes. The position was uncomfortable enough that the boy couldn’t fall asleep like that.  
When he wasn’t meditating, Hongbin was teaching him sutras and how to do the nine main hand seals. It got to the point where Jaehwan would do them as a habit without noticing that he was doing it.  
Before they realised what had happened, more than fifteen years had passed and the village recognised Jaehwan as a capable monk in his own right. He had been eating Taekwoon’s cooking for so long that the monk and his water god could go off on their 'excursions' for extended periods of time while leaving Jaehwan in charge of the temple, and none of his symptoms would manifest.  
“Papa,” Jaehwan said after meditation one morning.”H-hongbin,” he said nervously, trying to sound more mature than the child he knew Hongbin thought he was.  
“Hmm?” Hongbin noticed the change in what Jaehwan called him.  
“When do I get to go on a pilgrimage? I need to find my one like you did.”  
“You’re still young, Jaehwan. Can’t you wait?”  
“I don’t want to wait. I’m twenty. I want to be normal, I want to fall in love, I want to see that one temple by the sea you told me stories of.” He stomped his foot, said a small prayer and stormed out of the room. Hongbin said a prayer, begging anyone who would listen that Jaehwan didn’t do anything stupid.  
Apparently his prayer took him long enough that the only thing he saw in Jaehwan’s empty room was a note that said, ‘Thank you for everything.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ps:  
> I like comments  
> The next story is called eternity  
> I'll post it as soon as I finish it  
> (The other author kinda abandoned it do I've decided to finish it)


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